Design, Tech, Art, and Business

A Mobile Contraceptive App – Can You Trust It?!

Sex sells…so they say.

In 2015, Natural Cycles was barred from advertising the app as a contraceptive in its home country of Sweden. They then hired a team of researchers, who wrote a paper arguing it was nearly as effective as other contraceptive methods.

The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of a fertility awareness-based method supported by a mobile-based application to prevent unwanted pregnancies as a method of natural birth control. – Research Synopsis

For the first time, an app that monitors fertility via algorithms has been officially certified for contraception use. Experts caution, “any device that monitors the menstrual cycle is fallible as women don’t always ovulate predictably,” Dr. Adam Balen told The Telegraph.

Germany’s Department of Health approved the mobile Natural Cycles app, meaning it can now be prescribed by doctors in Europe and the UK in place of the pill, condoms or IUDs. It works in a similar way to the “rhythm” method, telling women how fertile they are and therefore when they can have sex with little risk of getting pregnant.

Users measure their temperature daily using the included electronic thermometer, and the app compares the readings with its data. Days when unprotected sex is okay are marked as green, but if the calendar shows red, couples must use other protection. It can also be used in the opposite way, telling couples the optimal time to try for a child.

“We can now proudly say that Natural Cycles is an effective contraceptive, comparable with others like the pill, the IUD and condoms,” Natural Cycles co-founder Elina Berglund wrote on the company’s site. “It’s another option for women to choose from.”

The app costs £6.99 per month, has 150,000 users in 161 countries. ..Lets see how soon the US gets to using it (if ever).